Do Tribunes join army without experience?

[Mrbsct]

Hey I have wondered how the class structure of the military works. I know Legionaires are the basic ranks made up of citizens. A veteran Legionaire would be promoted to Centurion. Most Centurions were lower class rarely make it to Tribune unless they become Senior Centurion.

My question is how do High class Senior officers like Tribune to Legatus join in the first place? Do they have to serve with other lower class Legionaries and rise up the ranks to Centurion and then Tribune facing multiple combat actions? Or do they just get elected and join the officer corp without any experience? Or do they have a ROTC thing where they train at home in an officer school with upper classmen until they are ready to command?

Like Caesar for instance. He was banished from Rome by Sulla and had to join the army. Did he join the army as a Legionaire and rise up the ranks?(Legionaire's couldn't marry, but Caesar was married....how did he join?) Or does he join automatically as Centurion or Tribune officer without any experience in war?

[PhilusEstilius]

With Tribunes it was very much a class system where a Tribunis Laticlavus was the senior of all tribunes and had the birth rite for command in some way eventually, then the tribunes Augusticlavii would be selected by the Emperor from the Equestrian ranks of society.
With centurians the ultimate goal would be to make it to Primus Pilus a rank that lasted one year before retirement, but if a Praefectus Castorum should die a Primus Pilus could very well fill a dead mans shoes but this was a rank all the way to the bitter end.

[Tarbicus]

A veteran Legionaire would be promoted to Centurion. Most Centurions were lower class rarely make it to Tribune unless they become Senior Centurion.

It's not so black and white. As far as I know, there's no evidence that a veteran would automatically be made a centurio, and there's evidence that centurios could make that rank via the class system and knowing the right people.

[Frank]

It depends on the era: republic, principate or late empire, and what kind of tribune we are talking about.

In republican times the tribuni laticlavii (nobiles) and angusticlavii (equites) were usually young men (17y+). They were directly promoted to this rank. From a roman point of view, social standing (auctoritas, dignitas, ...) was important to lead. And the rest was training on the job. The sons of senators or equites had usually a good education including at least some military theory (books). However, they could serve in more than one campaign until they volunteered for quaestor (27y). Therefore some of them were older and more experienced.

Centurions of the republic were plebejans. They could become primipilus or praepositus / prefectus cohortis (auxiliae). I doubt the praefectus castrorum existed already these days. Centurions could become equestrians, but that was a fully civil affair.

The only possible job of young Caesar in the army was tribunus laticlavius. However he could join a campaign without a defined rank as amicus of the legate / proconsul. Marriage was no issue for tribunes and higher officers of the army.

Augustus introduced a separate career path for the equites. Claudius formalised it and the final way is known since the Flavians. The equites started as prefectus cohortis (500), then tribunus militum (legionis) / tribunus cohortis (1000), prefectus alae (500) and finally since the Flavians tribunus alae (1000). Some started as young as 18 years old, but most were local magistrates of cities experienced in administration and about 30-40 years old, when they entered the army as prefect. After this military career they could become procurator (different ranks), head of the central departments in Rome (a rationibus, a libellis, ...), and finally prefect of Egypt or prefect of the praetorians. Since Severus also prefectus legionis was an option.

The career path of the centurions was different. They came either from the lower ranks, were equites directly promoted to centurio or lateral entrants coming from the equestrian career. The centurio could become centurio primi ordines and finally Primipilus. Afterwards primipili could become praefectus castrorum, tribunus vigilum, tribunus cohortis urbi, tribunus praetoriae, primipilus iterum and from there on procurator and finally one of the high prefects like the native equestrians.

In late empire most tribunes came from the ranks and were commanders of a unit of cohort size. However, sons of (new) nobles had better chances and could skip some of the lower ranks.

So coming back to your question: yes, tribunes joined the republican army without any military experience. But most did more than one campaign and were more experienced this way. In the principate, a tribunus militum (legionis) had at least 3 years of experience as prefect of a cohort (auxilia). Nevertheless, the tribunus laticlavius was still a rookie in the principate. Just a few did this job more than once. In late empire, tribunes were mostly more experienced.

[Flavius Inismeus]

Speaking of those laticlavii who did the job more than once - I'd very much like to read in full the article by the late Bernard Rémy, "L'itération du tribunat laticlave au Haut-Empire", published in: Recherches épigraphiques [Centre Jean Palerne, Mémoires, VII,1986], 85-157. 

https://books.google.com/books?id=mUKQJy8wFwgC&pg=PA85

Could someone here perhaps help me? I'd be most thankful!

[Hanny]

Hey I have wondered how the class structure of the military works. I know Legionaires are the basic ranks made up of citizens. A veteran Legionaire would be promoted to Centurion. Most Centurions were lower class rarely make it to Tribune unless they become Senior Centurion.

My question is how do High class Senior officers like Tribune to Legatus join in the first place? Do they have to serve with other lower class Legionaries and rise up the ranks to Centurion and then Tribune facing multiple combat actions? Or do they just get elected and join the officer corp without any experience? Or do they have a ROTC thing where they train at home in an officer school with upper classmen until they are ready to command?

Like Caesar for instance. He was banished from Rome by Sulla and had to join the army. Did he join the army as a Legionaire and rise up the ranks?(Legionaire's couldn't marry, but Caesar was married....how did he join?) Or does he join automatically as Centurion or Tribune officer without any experience in war?

https://www.jstor.org/stable/300072

[CaesarAugustus]

Hey I have wondered how the class structure of the military works. I know Legionaires are the basic ranks made up of citizens. A veteran Legionaire would be promoted to Centurion. Most Centurions were lower class rarely make it to Tribune unless they become Senior Centurion.

My question is how do High class Senior officers like Tribune to Legatus join in the first place? Do they have to serve with other lower class Legionaries and rise up the ranks to Centurion and then Tribune facing multiple combat actions? Or do they just get elected and join the officer corp without any experience? Or do they have a ROTC thing where they train at home in an officer school with upper classmen until they are ready to command?

Like Caesar for instance. He was banished from Rome by Sulla and had to join the army. Did he join the army as a Legionaire and rise up the ranks?(Legionaire's couldn't marry, but Caesar was married....how did he join?) Or does he join automatically as Centurion or Tribune officer without any experience in war?

More or less as you have said, upper classes entered directly with higher ranks. But, at the same time, we have also news about common people who were made directly centurion, thanks to acquaintances with high spheres.
But it is also true that the sons of the aristocracy often accompanied the legions, sometimes without an official role.